life of a pastor

Passion for God’s House

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John 2:17 NLT, “Then his disciples remembered this prophecy from the Scriptures: “Passion for God’s house will consume me.”

In our society today we have a passion for a lot of different things. Sports, education, media and movies, food, and many other things that bring us pleasure. Jesus was known, from the beginning of His ministry, for His passion for God’s House.

Here is a fulfillment of a prophecy,” Passion for God’s House will consume me.” This begs the question, “Does a passion for Gods House consume us?”. If we are passionate about things of this world, how much more should we be passionate about the things of God.

We should be passionate for God’s house in the following areas:

1. Passionate to GO to God’s House.

Are we faithful to His House or do we let other things keep us away? We must be careful that we don’t let things keep us from corporate worship.

2. Passionate to PRAY for God’s House.

How often do you pray for your church?  If we belong to a church then we should pray for the church, its pastors and leaders. There is no greater way to impact the church than to pray for it. Prayer equals power.

3. Passionate to GROW in God’s House.

There is an old saying that says we should bloom where we are planted.  Are you planted and blooming in church? It is difficult to mature spiritually apart from the church. Now, this doesn’t mean that it is the church’s job to make you grow. You have to feed yourself. But growth happens at a greater pace when you are linked with other believers. Being taught and ministered to. You grow when you are feeding yourself at home and then blooming in a Bible teaching congregation.

4. Passionate to SERVE in God’s House.

If you belong to a church, are you serving in that church? Everyone is called to ministry. We must use our giftings to serve others. People who are passionate for Gods house serve in God’s House.

5. Passionate to BUILD God’s House.

When is the last time you invited someone to church? It is not solely the pastor’s responsibility to build God’s House, it is everyone’s. The pastor equips the saints for the work of the ministry and the saints minister. It means that every church member is a builder. Building by inviting and building by serving.

We all need to grow in these areas. Find where you are lacking and work diligently to grow in passion for God’s House. In a couple of weeks this will be a part of our Commit to Jesus. Series. “I am Committed to God’s House.”

Pick up a copy of my new book, The Cloud of Witnesses. It is available on Amazon.

Sometimes, Church Hurts Kindle Version Free

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I am running the Kindle Version of my book, Sometimes, Church Hurts, for free through this weekend. It is available on Amazon.

Here is the description of the book:

Have you had a Christian friend turn on you? Has your church experience been tainted by painful relationships with other believers?

When Jesus instituted His church nearly 2,000 years ago, He declared that the gates of Hell would not prevail against it. While the enemy has never been able to overcome the church of Jesus Christ, he has still presented many challenges to it. Though the church was birthed in unity, division has marred many houses of worship. The reason? The church is centered on relationships and relationships can have problems. The church has been aptly described as a family, yet every family has its struggles and so it is with the family of God. Anytime there are problems in church, people get hurt.

Out of a burden for today’s church, Danny Cheney seeks to make you aware of the need for forgiveness and reconciliation. Drawing on nearly two decades of pastoral experience, he gives insight into how to find healing from church hurts. Having pastored three churches that had been through major division, Danny has seen first-hand the wounds that believers endure in the House of God. Through these experiences, he has found that the Scriptures give us all the answers to the problems churches and believers face. In Sometimes, Church Hurts, you will discover truths that will help you heal fractured relationships while also finding healing for your deepest wounds. This honest and challenging book addresses the issues that many churches and believers face today and helps us realize, Sometimes, Church Hurts.

If this interests you, get it for free on Kindle, or it is also available in paperback here.

Pick up a copy of my new book, The Cloud of Witnesses. It is available on Amazon.

Becoming Sluggish

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In our journey through life it is easy for us to slow down or become “sluggish”.  Life has a lot of hardships and demotivators.  One day we can be on top of the world and the next day find all of our dreams dashed on the rocks.  The tendency when life deals us these cards is to slow down and quit pressing forward.  A few years back, there was a company that specialized in demotivating sayings that I believe every one of us have thought at one time or another.  One saying goes, “CHALLENGES – I expected times like this – but I never thought they would be so bad, so long, and so frequent.”  Another that is written is, “DOUBT – In the battle between you and the world; bet on the world.”

This is often how we feel, and we dwell on things such as this, but the truth of the matter is God thinks of good things toward us not bad.  Thoughts of a future and a hope.  When life hands us sour grapes we have to press on and not become sluggish.  Not to slow down but rather to press forward full speed ahead.  The enemy of our souls wants us to quit and give up, but God wants us to stay on track and press forward.  Hebrews 6:12 says, “that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.”

Do not become sluggish!  Imitate those who have experienced hardship but still pressed on.  Imitate those who have faced disappointments and frustration but kept going and did not become sluggish.  When the going gets tough we must grow closer to God not farther away.  Press on!

Pick up a copy of my new book, The Cloud of Witnesses. It is available on Amazon.

FREE on Amazon Kindle until Sunday – my book, Sometimes, Church Hurts

Secrets of True Success

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I have been pastoring now for over 26 years and it has been a joy in my life. There have been, however, many ups and downs and I have had to step back on many occasions and focus on the most important things.

I think I can speak for a lot of pastors when I say that 2020 and the COVID era have taken its toll on the church and its leaders. The successes we knew before, were challenged and much of what we worked for, it seems that we took several steps back. In reality, many churches have not recovered yet to their numbers pre-COVID.

Having said that, this last couple of years have caused me to evaluate what the most important things are for us as a church, and me personally as a pastor. What is true success? At the onset, let me say, that I believe God desires for a church to grow and to continue growing. But when things are at a standstill or seem to have plateaued, what are the most important things to remember? What are the things that we must focus on so that we will stay on track? Are there any principles, for us as pastors, that we can pay attention to in challenging times that will see us through?

I believe there are. My new book The Cloud of Witnesses was birthed out of these questions. It was my attempt to put on paper what I believe are the most important things for a pastor to focus on and then let God bring the results in our ministry. Many people in our society, ministry, and world in general have defined what success should look like. But, in The Cloud of Witnesses I wrote what I believe true success should look like. What is success? Not in the world’s eyes, but what is success in God’s eyes?

These things are not only Secrets of True Success for pastors, but I believe it can translate into every area of our lives. I will list the Seven Secrets of True Success in the abbreviated version here, but I have also put the full PDF version for you to click on and download. These Secrets (which are really not secrets) will revolutionize your perspective and your life if you will allow them to.

The Secrets of True Success

  1. I will be a person of true success.
  2. I will be a person of prayer.
  3. I will be a shepherd of God’s flock.
  4. I will be a person of humility.
  5. I will be a person of complete integrity.
  6. I will be a person of the Word, reading my Bible daily for more than just sermon preparation.
  7. I will be a person who is faithful in and through everything.

These are the springboard for what success looks like if we will hold these dear to our heart.

Click here for the FULL PDF VERSION

If you would like to read the story of a pastor who learned what True Success looks like, grab a copy of The Cloud of Witnesses. I believe it will bless you.

Blessing for 2023

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On this New Year’s Day I want to speak a blessing over you, and to declare this over your life for 2023:

May the Lord bless you and protect you.
May the Lord smile on you and be gracious to you.
May the Lord show you his favor and give you his peace.’

May He bless you and expand your territory!
May He be with you in all that you do.
And that He would keep you from all trouble and pain!” 

May God grant you according to your heart’s desires,
And may He fulfill all your purpose.

I declare that you are the head and not the tail
Above and not beneath.
May you be a lender and not a borrower.
Blessed and not cursed, wealthy and not lacking.
I declare that you will be a giant and not a grasshopper.

You are strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.
You can do all things through Christ who strengthens you.
You are more than a conqueror through Christ who loves you and strengthens you.

Our God shall supply all of your needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
May you prosper and be in good health, even as your soul prospers.

May 2023, be the year of the Lord’s presence in your life.
May you hear His voice more clearly and be led with more clarity.

May you walk in His will because the steps of a righteous person are ordered by the Lord and He delights in your way.

I declare that this year will be a year of favor and blessing.
Lord, grant this people with a year of your grace and mercy.
They are your people; may they walk in your glory in 2023.

Here you can download a pdf of this blessing and use it as a daily declaration this year.

Get a copy of my new book, The Cloud of Witnesses.

The Cloud of Witnesses Available Now

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For years, I haven’t been much of a fiction reader. Honestly, I get too engrossed in them and because I can’t put them down, I stay up too late at night trying to see what happens next. I don’t like suspense.

But then, I started reading a different kind of fiction. I guess you could call it less suspenseful and more geared toward learning. A hybrid of fiction and non-fiction. Many would call it an allegory. Authors like Andy Andrews and the late, Og Mandino who write this type of fiction have had a heavy influence on my life and the way I live. Their writings have helped me immensely and it was while reading their books that I got an idea for my own book.

Andy Andrews and Mandino’s books are geared toward business and leadership. It got me to thinking that there are few books that describe what true success looks like for a pastor or ministry. In fact, many of the church’s leadership books are based on business principles. While we can glean from business leadership, there are so many lessons found in Scripture that show us what true success looks like. Success not in the worldly sense, but success in God’s eyes.

With that in mind, Cloud of Witnesses was born. It was planted as a seed around five years ago while reading the book The Traveller’s Gift by Andy Andrews. The idea stayed with me until I wrote the first chapter in January 2021. Then I did not write another word for a year. But deep down, this idea kept nagging me until, I finally began writing again after reading Adorning the Dark by Andrew Peterson. This book encouraged the readers to adorn the world with creativity, writing, and the arts. Despite our doubts and hang-ups, Peterson challenges his reader to spread the light in the world.

So, I laid aside my doubts and began writing again. Cloud of Witnesses is a first person fiction set in a small Texas town where Pastor John Watkins is struggling to build a church.

Well, let me just share with you the description written on the back of the book:

Learn the Secrets to True Success. It’s more simple than you think.

Hull Christian Church is a dwindling church in a dying community. Two years in, Pastor John Watkins is out of answers and his leadership struggle is evident to his twelve parishioners. He is ready to give up when an unknown visitor prays over him at the end of a church service then vanishes without anyone seeing him. A few weeks later, this mysterious man appears in John’s office and sets the course for the future of this young pastor’s ministry. The mystery deepens as John Watkins is introduced to ancient wisdom, millennia old, and he is given seven secrets to true success; proven laws that have been passed down through time. Watkins has tried everything else to no avail, will these secrets work even in this small struggling church?

In this book, pastors and leaders will discover the secrets of true success. The Cloud of Witnesses will challenge and encourage the reader. Whether you are a pastor or a member of a local church, this book will give you insight into the life and heart of a pastor.

This book is certainly geared toward pastors, but I would encourage any Christian or church leader to read it. The principles set forth in this allegory are Scriptural and for every believer, not just pastors. However, this book speaks specifically to pastors about our mindset of success. It will challenge all of our thinking.

You can pick up a copy of The Cloud of Witnesses today. Click here.

Please feel free to share this link with anyone, especially pastors and church leaders.

The Cloud of Witnesses Release

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I am excited to announce a project that I have been working on for the last year and half. On January 1st, 2023, my new book will be released. The Cloud of Witnesses: Ancient wisdom comes alive for a struggling pastor.

Since Covid took our world by storm, it has led to great challenges for the American church. In fact, many pastors have walked away from ministry, leading to what has been dubbed “The Great Resignation”. This book is my rally cry for pastors and leaders who are facing troubled times.

The book is fiction. An allegory of the life of a small church pastor, John Watkins, who has run out of answers. On the brink of quitting, he has an encounter that changes the course of his life and ministry.

Through his discussions with the Cloud of Witnesses, John Watkins discovers the secrets to true success. This book is for pastors or anyone who wants to understand the heart and ministry of their pastor. I believe it is a good read for any Christian, as well as pastors.

So, mark your calendars for New Year’s Day. The Cloud of Witnesses will be available on Amazon.

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